The NSF Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) program creates regional-scale, technology-driven, inclusive innovation ecosystems throughout the US by accelerating key technologies, addressing regional, national, societal, and/or geostrategic challenges, driving economic growth, creating and retaining quality jobs, expanding equitable pathways into careers, and strengthening national competitiveness and security. Each NSF Engine represents a formal coalition of regional partners, led by a full-time CEO, tasked to carry out an integrated and comprehensive set of activities spanning use-inspired research, translation of innovation to practice, entrepreneurship, workforce development, community engagement, and ecosystem building, to nurture and accelerate the growth of regional innovation ecosystems grounded in technological innovation and regional, national, societal, and/or geostrategic challenges. The mission of an NSF Engine must be clearly rooted in regional interests and reflect the aspiration that a regional innovation ecosystem can help build strong communities where all residents can thrive. This includes the equitable development of regional talent, intentional community engagement, and attention to impacts on a region's identities and cultures. The NSF Engines program is a placed-based innovation funding initiative, where the emphasis on "regions" expresses NSF's aim to stimulate innovation-driven economic growth within a particular place or region of service. The emphasis of the NSF Engines program further includes creating new business and economic growth in sectors that are critical to American competitiveness and in those regions of America that have not fully participated in the technology boom of the past several decades.

Letter of Intent Deadline: 06/18/2024, 5 pm ET
NSF Preliminary Proposal Deadline: 08/06/2024, 5 p m ET
NSF Full Proposal Deadline: 02/11/2025, 5 p m ET
Link to FOA Here

PI Eligibility:  The Principal Investigator (PI) must be a senior member of the submitting organization's leadership and will also serve as the full-time CEO for the NSF Engine. Individuals with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as a Principal Investigator (PI) are invited to work with their organizations to develop an application. Individuals from underrepresented groups as well as individuals with disabilities are always encouraged to apply.

Institutional Limit: An organization may submit no more than one Letter of Intent (LOI), one preliminary proposal, and one full proposal in response to this solicitation as the lead organization.

Application Information:  All UD limited submission white papers must use this template found on the Research Office limited submission webpage. Applications not adhering to this requirement will be returned without review.

Merit Review Criteria: Internal white papers will be reviewed based on the criteria detailed in the solicitation.